Colombo  +  921458 Tue, 29 Sep 09 08:47 AM I've been away from this forum for a while, and meantime I've enrolled for a five-year (gulp!) degree in English (which includes grammar, literature, linguistics, and so on) at a distance university. Right now I'm starting to delve into English phonetics (using "Gimson's Pronunciation of English", which is the recommended textbook), and while I like the subject, I find it very hard. I don't think it'll improve my pronunciation at all, not having an 'Enry 'Iggins to hand, but I'm doing my best. I suppose the internet's got many resources, but having no internet connection at home and not much time to search, I cannot take much advantage of them.   I've written down a list of doubts I've already got, with a view to browsing the forums calmly looking for answers. But for now I'd like to ask you a question. I am trying to figure out the differences among the different English accents so as to be able to tell one from the others. I am listening to Tom Jones and trying to make out whatever there is of Welsh in his accent. Does he really sing -I'm not talking about his speaking accent, which I don't know- with a Welsh accent? All I can say is I can understand him pretty well (that's not very common in me, I'm afraid), but I couldn't tell what characterizes his accent for all the tea in China! I only notice something that sounds strange to me in the final sound of words like "give" or "live", but I cannot tell what it is (and I've found no explanation about that in my phonetics book).   Thanks a lot in advance.   Colombo Joined on Fri, May 5 2006 Spain Junior Member 82 Trying to learn English Accents, Pronunciation, Phonetics, Literature, Online, Speaking, Chat, Countries, United Kingdom, Friendships, Languages, China, Asia, British Accents, Degree

	Tanit  +  922243 Tue, 29 Sep 09 09:22 PM Hi, I might be mistaken because I'm not really into phonetics, but I don't think it's useful to look into an accent by analyzing the way one sings. If you want to listen to Welsh accents (or to accents from various parts of the UK), I recommend BBC Voices. You'll find clips like the ones in this page, and a map to choose locations from. Tanit Joined on Mon, Jul 31 2006 Senior Member 3,040 There is no greater pain than to remember a happy time when one is in misery. (Dante) Accents, Pronunciation, Phonetics, Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain

	Kooyeen  +  922259 Tue, 29 Sep 09 09:49 PM Yeah, accents in songs are... different or fake. Most singers sound pretty much like Americans with a non-rhotic accent, no matter where they are from. Kooyeen Joined on Thu, Dec 22 2005 Italy Senior Member 4,985 Parental Advisory / Explicit Posts Accents, Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain, United States, American, Songs, Arts, Music

	Colombo  +  922839 Wed, 30 Sep 09 07:15 AM Yes, I thought it might be so. But, as I said before, I haven't got a steady access to the internet, so for me it's difficult to spend time listening to all those clips, and I thought that the easiest way, at least to begin with, would be to listen to all the albums I've got. Do you happen to know of a site with clips I can download (many at a time) so I can take them home and listen to them there?   Thanks! Colombo Accents, Online, Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain

	raindoctor  +  924023 Thu, 01 Oct 09 08:45 AM Focus on the variation of vowels in various accents: phonetic differences. Sometimes, you can see phonemic differences as is the case between BrE and AmE. Most of the transcriptions are broad, like the ones we see in dictionaries. Mastering narrow transcription, which requires you to train your ears to notice all variations/subtlities, is the key to understand variatiations. raindoctor Joined on Sun, Apr 26 2009 Junior Member 69 Vowels, Accents, Pronunciation, Phonetics, Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain

	Colombo  +  924071 Thu, 01 Oct 09 09:47 AM Thanks a lot. In my five-vowel world, just telling /Ʊ/ from /u:/ would be a success, so I'm afraid I'm not quite prepared to perceive those differences yet . Colombo Accents, Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain

	raindoctor  +  924078 Thu, 01 Oct 09 09:53 AM Instead of worrying about perceptions (auditory phonetics), try to produce variations (articulatory phonetics): how to produce a fronted /u:/ ? You have to formulate your worries into a set of problems, and then attack systematically. This is part of any cognitive activity: learning or producing knowledge. raindoctor Accents, Pronunciation, Phonetics, Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Activities

	Colombo  +  924930 Fri, 02 Oct 09 11:04 AM raindoctor “Instead of worrying about perceptions (auditory phonetics), try to produce variations (articulatory phonetics): how to produce a fronted /u:/ ? ”   That seems a very good idea. I think I might try to change from one vowel to the other by knowing whether I must make it more to the front, to the back, more open... But I don't know how I can know whether I'm producig the right vowel, or any other. Are there mp3 recordings of isolated vowels that are long enough so I can try to adjust the vowel I produce to the vowel I hear, and then maintain it for some time? I should try to save them in my computer so I can practice at home.   Colombo Vowels, Accents, Pronunciation, Phonetics, Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain

	Kooyeen  +  925000 Fri, 02 Oct 09 02:10 PM The only way to hear a difference is listening to contrasting pairs, in my opinion. Minimal pairs, you know. Beat - bit fool - full etc. If you have such major problems, then maybe you could start with an accent reduction course. For American English, there's American Accent Training by Ann Cook, and it's so popular that it's very easy to find it online (warning: downloading it for free might be illegal in your country). There's a good one on British English too, but I don't remember the name. Kooyeen Accents, American Accents, American English, British English, Online, Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain, United States, American, Languages, Training